Iraq: 20,000 security forces to participate in Special Arbaeen Pilgrimage Plan

The Iraq’s Joint Operations Command announced that more than 20,000 security forces will be deployed in order to ensure the security of the Arbaeen pilgrimage.

Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji, the spokesman of Iraq’s Joint Operations Command, said in a statement followed by the Shia Waves Agency that, “Twenty thousand people from the army, police, Hashd al-Shaabi and other security institutions such as the Intelligence Organization, the National Security Organization and the Organizations Intelligence Coordination Center will participate in this project.

“This large-scale plan, which will cover various areas, will be implemented on the ground and in the sky with the support of security units and the army, as well as the participation of air force pilots,” he further added.

The spokesman of the Iraq’s Joint Operations Command also noted that this plan will be implemented on the ground, in areas that require surveillance and security measures, and on the route of the Arbaeen pilgrimage where special control and monitoring is required.

He added that the plan will be operated in the air across the territory of Iraq, especially in the directions of Arbaeen pilgrimage, such as Basra in the south, and the north of Iraq, where Husayni pilgrims are moving towards the holy city of Karbala.

Before the implementation of this plan, preventive operations have been implemented in order to secure all passages, communication routes, as well as crossings and border posts, Al-Khafaji further stated, adding that special measures have been carefully taken for the security of the holy city of Karbala.

He emphasized that a Coordination Center has been set up in the Iraq’s Joint Operations Command Headquarters to ensure the optimal implementation of these operations, to get round-the-clock updates on the latest status of the pilgrims and the process of their entry and exit to Iraq.

It is expected that more than 5 million Hussaini pilgrims will enter the country for the Arbaeen pilgrimage from outside Iraq.